Our Story
Orchibellas was birthed by the love between two people, which through a chance encounter in an Uber on May 19, 2019, eventually fell in love, and married a year later. My wife and I had one dream in common, to bring an end to the 9-5 grind, and build a family business together. Something that through our union would be ours, built by our hands, and passed on to our children. Thus on April 12, 2022, Orchibellas was born.
We initially were only selling orchids in bulk, and began as a distributor. However, a few things happened along the way that redirected what we do, and what we offer. We noticed that even though we were offering orchids, we were getting requests for other types of flowers, namely roses. Luckily, my wife's prior career came in handy, as the contacts which were clients of the company she worked for, became an avenue for us to be able to import all sorts of flowers. Our offerings expanded at this point.
A really interesting thing happened as we began acquiring a client here, a client there. Let me explain. Being a distributor of flowers is nice, but it's very impersonal. You're essentially just selling boxes. Sure, there's product inside, but you're really just moving boxes from here to there. While making a delivery to one of those clients, who owns a flower shop, my wife watched the owner making bouquets, and it inspired her. She then brought home a box of roses which wasn't in the best condition, and was going to be disposed of by the farm, and tried her hand at creating a bouquet. This was a very different process than what we were doing prior, where now she was touching the product itself, and then creating something beautiful, out of something already beautiful. She was hooked. Almost immediately this shifted Orchibellas focus on what we're going to promote and sell. There's a magic and innate gratification to creating something, all human beings can relate to this. This was no different. Then, my manly competitive nature kicked in as I watched her making bouquets, and thought, "I can do it better than you". As much as I hate to lose, I will concede that she has a talent for this, but give me some time, I'll get there :)
We then began the process of promoting, and with a business that's literally run out of our living room, we really don't have budget for traditional marketing services, so we have to improvise. My wife started an Instagram business account, which she posts on every day. Whatever content she can get her hands on, and/or create, she uses and posts to help promote. As I mentioned prior that we're on a budget, I still drive Uber some of the time, so I market the company as well to my passengers but in a bit of a unique way. This I'll have to explain thoroughly as well. I initially thought, "why don't I take some mini-bouquets, and sell them in the car?". After a few rides, I realized that I really didn't like doing that. I felt like I was bothering people. So I decided to give individual roses to my passengers, but in exchange for a smile. The response I got was overwhelming! I didn't realize how many people love flowers, and are looking for a reason to smile as well. People were really appreciative too. The next day I created a sign that instructed each passenger to take a rose in exchange for a smile. I placed our Instagram on the sign, and would ask people to tag us if they'd like to, as it would help us grow. This started a chain of interesting stories and experiences, from having someone cry at the gesture, to another admitting that this is the first rose that they've ever gotten, to another tagging us for inadvertently completing their Halloween costume, and to the most sincere, and appreciative thank you's for making their day/night. It's now a hashtag, #oneroseforasmile, which we hope and will continue promoting for people to do on their own. Give a rose to a stranger in exchange for a smile.
At this point, we're in the very early stages of your traditional American business, blossoming through the American dream. Please join us in that dream, and if you give us a chance, we can be the inspiration that may make you reach yours!
Chaind Garcia ~ CEO
Katherin Prieto ~ CFO
#oneroseforasmile #humanityrestored